The deposition of insoluble beta-amyloid protein fibrils is probably the central event in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease. Cerebrospinal fluid inhibits this fibril formation, likely by the intervention of one or several proteins binding to soluble beta-amyloid protein. In vitro, transthyretin (TTR), a CSF protein, impedes amyloid fibrillogenesis. Lowered concentrations of CSFTTR could t...

Enzymes fold into unique three-dimensional structures, which underlie their remarkable catalytic properties. The requirement to adopt a stable, folded conformation is likely to contribute to their relatively large size (>10,000 Da). However, much shorter peptides can achieve well-defined conformations through the formation of amyloid fibrils. To test whether short amyloid-forming peptides might...

The primordial Earth probably had most of the factors needed for the emergence and development of life. It is believed that it had not only water, but also simple inorganic and organic materials. While studies since the 1950s on the origins of organic matter have established key roles for amino acids, conditions that would have promoted their condensation to make polymers, such as peptides or p...

Antibody production using synthetic peptides has been investigated extensively to develop therapeutic antibodies and prophylactic vaccines. Previously, we reported that a complex of CpG-DNA and synthetic peptides corresponding to B cell epitopes, encapsulated in a phosphatidyl-β-oleoyl-γ-palmitoyl ethanolamine (DOPE):cholesterol hemisuccinate (CHEMS) complex, significantly enhanced the syntheti...

Formation of AGEs (advanced glycation end-products) and ALEs (advanced lipoxidation end-products) on proteins is associated with aging and various diseases of oxidative stress, notably diabetes and its complications. Modification of protein to AGE/ALEs is known to be site-directed and this has potential implications for protein functionality and design of AGE/ALE inhibitors. Determination of th...

A platform technology has been developed and tested for delivery of intracellular-acting peptides through electrostatically complexed nanoparticles, or nano-polyplexes, formulated from an anionic endosomolytic polymer and cationic therapeutic peptides. This delivery platform has been initially tested and optimized for delivery of two unique vasoactive peptides, a phosphomimetic of heat shock pr...

An improved production and purification method for Alzheimer's disease related methionine-modified amyloid-β 1-40 and 1-42 peptides is proposed, taking advantage of the formation of inclusion body in Escherichia coli. A Thioflavin-S assay was set-up to evaluate inclusion body formation during growth and optimize culture conditions for amyloid-β peptides production. A simple and fast purificatio...

Assembly of normally soluble proteins into amyloid fibrils is a cause or associated symptom of numerous human disorders, including Alzheimer's and the prion diseases. We report molecular-level simulation of spontaneous fibril formation. Systems containing 12-96 model polyalanine peptides form fibrils at temperatures greater than a critical temperature that decreases with peptide concentration a...